Velcro: Inspired by a Dog's FurThe tiny hooks on a burr sparked a brilliant idea.

From the show

The Secret Life of Objects

Sometimes the most brilliant solutions are hiding in plain sight, inspired by everyday annoyances. After a walk in the Alps, engineer George de Mestral was frustrated by the burrs stuck to his dog. But his curiosity led him to examine one under a microscope. He discovered a natural hook-and-loop system, a tiny, perfect machine he spent the next decade replicating. His persistence turned a walk in the woods into one of the 20th century's most ubiquitous inventions.